Customer Reviews

Casio Men's GW810D-1A G-Shock Multi-Band Solar Atomic Watch

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This watch is the same as the Mudman GW9000A-1 except for a metal case and band/plastic plated to look like metal instead of the GW9000's heavy black resin bezel and band.
This makes for a very versatile, tough, and fully featured watch that looks more dressy than the Mudman. I've read that the plating (or is it painted) on some of the plastic can wear down to show the plastic underneath, but I've seen no evidence of that at all. On the contrary, my watch has seen the some of the same abuse that killed my non-Gshock watches and has come through w/out a scratch.
It has a great feature set. If you've ever had a Casio, you know how easy they are to learn to use. A feature I didn't think I needed, but have come to love is the auto el feature. It automatically flashes the light on for just over a second if you look at the watch in the dark.
This watch is also cool because you can see the time of day when in in countdown timer mode.

This is a great watch if you want: solar charging, atomic time setting, world time, stopwatch, and countdown timer with a light. You can't go wrong with this watch. Looking for something more blue collar? Try the GW9000A.

This is my third G-Shock, and my second Solar-Atomic. My MT-G model served me well for about 10 years. Then, it started losing its ability to hold a charge. I could find no one in my area that could replace the rechargeable battery. So, I opted to order a new G-Shock Solar Atomic watch.

I chose the GW810D-1A because it has a countdown function. Oddly, my first G-Shock had that function, but my MT-G didn't, and I had used it a lot. After using the GW810D for a while, I find that I prefer the MT-G on several counts. The MT-G has a larger display, and shows the day, date, and time, all at once. The GW810 has a smaller display, and shows the time, and your choice of either the date, or the day, but not both at once. The reason for the smaller display is the oval and three rings across the top of the GW810's display. Since it will pick up time signals from various transmitters around the world, not just the Colo. transmitter, like the MT-G, it displays the transmitter from which it set itself the last time it set, with a ring for each transmitter. I never have trouble knowing what country I'm in. I think this display could have been accomplished somewhat much less ostentatiously, and allowed for the larger display that the MT-G has.

I should warn older people, especially males, about the alarm functions. All humans start losing their high frequency hearing in their 20s. Men lose if more, and faster. I am 61, and not hard of hearing at all. But, I can only hear the high-pitched alarm when the watch is pointing at me, and within about one foot of my ear. College kids I work with can hear it from 15 feet away. So, having the countdown timer on the GW810 didn't help me.

About the auto-setting - I live in a wood frame house, and the watch can still be picky about where it is located, to receive a signal. If you live in a steel and concrete building, you will need to place it in a window facing Colorado, to get a reset. When I am out camping, it always resets easily. You can force an auto reset if you need to, just by pressing one button. Also, the watch indicates signal strength.

I like G-Shock Atomic Solar watches. Even if they go without setting for a month, one gained two seconds, while the other lost two seconds. That's plenty close enough for most of us. If you travel, and need the ability to reset from transmitters in other parts of the world, or you need the countdown alarm function, and can hear high-pitched sounds well, then get the GW810. Otherwise, I recommend the MT-G. If you need to win arguments about exactly what time it is, this is the watch for you. They are extremely durable too.

Great watch for the money! You get the superb Casio functions and options (Atomic, Solar, Stop Watch, 5 Alarms, Timer, & World Time) combined with stylish looks with the all metal band and mostly metal case. Should last for years if any of my previous Casio watches are an indication of durability.

Pros: It always has the correct time (to the second), it's great looking and there is virtually no maintenance required.
Cons: None for the watch, however, the font size in the on-line owner's manual needs to be enlarged a bunch.

I love these watches. This is my second Casio "WAVE CEPTOR" watch; I had my first one for about two years and it performed flawlessly. I purchased this watch primarily because it receives time signals in other countries as well as in North America. We are planning a vacation to the UK in 2010 so it seemed like a good idea to replace my Mens Casio MTG900DA-8V with a multi-band radio signal version. When you consider how well this watch is made, its durability, and the lack of maintenance required, its price is a bargain, even at full retail.

After buying another G-Shock at a store, and finding it lacked the countdown timer (oops), I ordered this one from Amazon. There were not many watches that had the features I wanted (digital, stopwatch, countdown, submersible, illumination) that also look this nice. Also, someone else suggested the band is plated plastic; Casio claims it is stainless steel, and, after fiddling with it, I believe it is. No regrets.

I bought this as a clearance item from another retailer for a very good price. The weakest link (pun intended) is the metal band/bracelet; its quality is not terrible, but not on par with metal bracelets from Seiko or Citizen, for example. It is also very difficult to remove links, if you like doing these things yourself--much harder than any other watch with a metal bracelet that I've had (Seiko, Citizen, Invicta, etc.). If you look carefully at the photos of the bracelet you may see what I mean; each link on the bracelet is connected to other links with tiny little spring bars that are very hard to remove.

The watch itself is swell. Mine came charged to the "high" charge indicator level so I could use it right away. The printed manual has such tiny print that it is hard on my aging eyes; you can download a manual from the Casio website that is much easier to read. Another reviewer said the alarm kept sounding; you can turn the alarm and all other sounds off completely by following the instructions, but don't lose the manual because there are multiple button presses required. The radio sync works every night here in Houston, TX, as long as I leave the watch upstairs somewhere near an exterior wall (doesn't even have to be on a window sill). The reception seems much better at night as the manual receive function does not work during the daylight hours.

I have been a Casio G-Shock wearer for as long as I can remember. My wife said I was in need of updating my old black resin g-shock with something nicer. I looked and searched even the Casino web site for the features that I needed. This watch fits them all. I like to wear this watch even more than my Tag. You could not go wrong with this watch. I did need to resize it. Took out 2 links and it fits perfectly.

I absolutely love this watch so far. I've only had it a week, but I really have no regrets. It is one of the smallest Gshock models out there. I have pretty thin wrists, but this doesn't look goofy on me like many other bulky watches. The metal styling looks great. I work in a corporate environment and it completely fits in with business casual dress.

One warning-- when it arrives, it won't be charged, so you won't be able to use it for a while. This killed me! I really wanted to start playing with it right away, but even after leaving it under a light overnight, the display wouldn't come up. I had to leave it on my dashboard for a couple hours the next morning, and that did the trick.

I wanted a relatively lightweight watch to wear for playing tennis and other outdoor activities. This one seemed to fit my criteria.

Pros:
- very lightweight compared to my Omega
- smallest of most of the mens G-Shock watches (for my small wrist)
- solar-powered
- atomic time-keeping

Cons:
- side buttons somewhat difficult to access (but that could be a good thing)
- more expensive (on Amazon) than the other G-Shock watches even though the retail price is the same as the others ($150)

Overall, a very nice watch for the price.

I love this watch, I've had it for about a year now and I bought it at Costco for 59.99 but that was an amazing deal. It's easily worth what Amazon is selling it for. It updates 95% of the time I ask it too (the other 5% is just bad signal for some reason but it only happens like once every 3 weeks that it doesn't update but that doesn't matter because it'll still be within less than a second of the actual time) and it's so awesome being able to know the EXACT time! Just knowing that your watch is 100% correct all the time is so cool! Also I love how it's solar powered. I don't have to even remember it HAS a batter! It charges faster than I can use it and I just wear it normally. The alarms are awesome and so is the stopwatch and timer, they work perfectly, and I love how it tells you the time in 48 cities, but it is hard to tell what city it's talking about since it shortens it to 3 letters... what city is YHZ??? But this is an amazing watch and will never break since it's a G-Shock, and I've had several people come up and say "Hey is that a G-Shock? Cool!" Great timepiece I HIGHLY recommend it!